U.S. patent number 7,673,724 [Application Number 11/597,919] was granted by the patent office on 2010-03-09 for brake mechanism.
This patent grant is currently assigned to DaimlerChrysler AG, KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer Nutzfehrzeuge GmbH. Invention is credited to Johann Baumgartner, Uwe Mauz, Stefan Sagerer.
United States Patent |
7,673,724 |
Baumgartner , et
al. |
March 9, 2010 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Brake mechanism
Abstract
A brake mechanism includes a connecting element that is fixed to
a wheel axle of a motor vehicle or is embodied monolithically
therewith, and a fastening flange of a disk brake caliper. The
fastening flange is fixed to the connecting element. The brake
mechanism is configured in such a way that the fastening flange is
retained in a positive manner on the connecting element in the
circumferential direction of the wheel axle.
Inventors: |
Baumgartner; Johann (Moosburg,
DE), Sagerer; Stefan (Oberappersdorf bei Zolling,
DE), Mauz; Uwe (Esslingen, DE) |
Assignee: |
KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer
Nutzfehrzeuge GmbH (Munich, DE)
DaimlerChrysler AG (Stuttgart, DE)
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Family
ID: |
34964904 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/597,919 |
Filed: |
March 24, 2005 |
PCT
Filed: |
March 24, 2005 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/EP2005/003155 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
July 25, 2007 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2005/095815 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
October 13, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20070284201 A1 |
Dec 13, 2007 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Apr 1, 2004 [DE] |
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10 2004 016 826 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
188/73.31;
188/73.45; 188/71.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16D
55/00 (20130101); F16D 2055/0008 (20130101); F16D
2055/0016 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F16D
55/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;188/71.1,73.31,73.45,73.1,73.2,73.39,73.42,73.43,73.46 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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198 55 275 |
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Jun 2000 |
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DE |
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200 21 587 |
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May 2001 |
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DE |
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102 60 829 |
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Jul 2003 |
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DE |
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0 849 486 |
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Jun 1998 |
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EP |
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1.313.957 |
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Jan 1963 |
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FR |
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7-12148 |
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Jan 1995 |
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JP |
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10-331878 |
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Dec 1998 |
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JP |
|
2001-271857 |
|
Oct 2001 |
|
JP |
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2001-280377 |
|
Oct 2001 |
|
JP |
|
Other References
International Search Report dated Jul. 6, 2005 including an English
translation of the pertinent portions (Six (6) pages). cited by
other.
|
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Xuan Lan
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Crowell & Moring LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A brake mechanism, comprising: a connecting element operatively
adapted for being fastenable to a wheel axle of a motor vehicle or
being configured in one-piece with the wheel axle; a fastening
flange of at least one of a brake caliper and brake carrier of a
disk brake, the fastening flange being fastened fixedly to the
connecting element; wherein the fastening flange is adaptively
configured to be held in a form-fitting manner on the connecting
element in a circumferential direction of the wheel axle; wherein
the fastening flange and the connecting element have, in each case,
contact faces which bear against one another and extend, in each
case, at an acute angle .alpha. of less than 90.degree. with
respect to a center longitudinal axis of the connecting element;
and wherein the contact faces are arranged so as to extend in a V
shape with respect to one another.
2. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces are arranged in a mirror-symmetrical manner about the center
longitudinal axis of the connecting element with respect to one
another.
3. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting element has two connecting limbs, the sides of which
face the fastening flange form, in each case, the contact face.
4. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces enclose an angle 2.alpha. of less than 90.degree. with
respect to the center longitudinal axis of the connecting
element.
5. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces enclose an angle 2.alpha. of between 20.degree. and
70.degree. with respect to the center longitudinal axis of the
connecting element.
6. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces enclose an angle 2.alpha. of between 30.degree. and
60.degree. with respect to the center longitudinal axis of the
connecting element.
7. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces enclose an angle 2.alpha. of approximately 55.degree..
8. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contact
faces enclose an angle 2.alpha. of approximately 58.degree..
9. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting element is formed in one piece as a cast part with the
wheel axle or with an axle element.
10. A brake mechanism comprising: a connecting element operatively
adapted for being fastenable to a wheel axle of a motor vehicle or
being configured in one-piece with the wheel axle; a fastening
flange of at least one of a brake caliper and brake carrier of a
disk brake, the fastening flange being fastened to the connecting
element; wherein the fastening flange is adaptively configured to
be held in a form-fitting manner on the connecting element in a
circumferential direction of the wheel axle, wherein the fastening
flange and the connecting element have, in each case, contact faces
which hear against one another and extend, in each case, at an
acute angle .alpha. of less than 90.degree. with respect to a
center longitudinal axis of the connecting element, wherein the
connecting element has two connecting limbs, the sides of which
face the fastening flange form, in each case, the contact face, and
wherein each connecting limb has supporting faces which extend
parallel with respect to the associated contact face and on which
heads of connection screws are supported, which connection screws
are screwed into the fastening flange.
11. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
connection screws are arranged so as to extend tangentially with
respect to the wheel axle.
12. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
fastening flange is provided with two fastening limbs, of which
each is assigned to a connecting limb of the connecting element and
bears against the contact face.
13. The brake mechanism as claimed in claim 12, wherein each
fastening limb bears over its full contact face against the contact
face of the associated connecting limb.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a brake mechanism.
Preferably disk brakes which are actuated by compressed air, in
particular for commercial vehicles, are fastened in each case to a
connecting element which is connected fixedly to the wheel axle by
a fastening flange of the brake caliper or a brake carrier of the
disk brake being screwed to the connecting element.
This type of fastening is shown and described, for example, in EP 0
849 486 A2. Here, the connecting element and the fastening flange
of the brake caliper bear with their full surface area against one
another, that is to say in an overlapping manner, and are screwed
to one another by screws which extend in the axial direction of the
wheel axle.
Although satisfactory positioning of the brake caliper is achieved
as a result, the exclusively force-transmitting connection is
associated with some disadvantages which stand in the way of
long-term optimum operation of the disk brake.
During the braking operation, a torque becomes active as a result
of the applied braking force or as a result of the friction forces
which act on the brake disk, which torque has to be absorbed by the
screw connections which in each case comprise a through hole, a
threaded hole and a screw, it being possible for the through hole
to be provided in the connecting element or fastening flange and
for the threaded hole to be provided in the other associated
component.
In order for the screw to pass through, the diameter of the through
whole has to be greater than the shaft diameter of the screw. In
particular in the case of high braking moments which are not
transmitted by the force-transmitting connection, this leads to a
relative movement of the component which has the through hole with
respect to the other components, until the interior of the through
hole comes into contact with the screw shaft. As a result, the
screws are subjected to shear forces to a considerable extent,
which makes corresponding cross-sectional dimensioning necessary
which counteracts inexpensive mounting and a weight-optimized
construction.
It is also problematic that this type of connection requires a
relatively large number of connection screws, which necessitates
large bearing faces of the connecting element and the fastening
flange.
As a result of the abovementioned relative displacement of the
components which are connected to one another during braking, the
sliding guide of the brake caliper in a sliding caliper brake can
be stressed, which leads to long-term damage of the guide parts.
Moreover, in the case of reversing operation, the frequent to and
fro displacement of the components can lead to loosening of the
screws, as a result of which the operational security can be
impaired overall.
One further disadvantage of the known fastening type is the poor
accessibility of the screws; as screwing has to take place from the
vehicle inner side, mounting and dismantling of the brake is made
difficult.
It is known from DE 200 21 587 U1 not to arrange the screws
coaxially with respect to the rotational axis of the disk brake,
but tangentially with respect thereto. Although this construction
makes improved accessibility of the screws possible during mounting
and a reduction in the brake weight as a result of the possible
smaller bearing faces of the connecting element and the fastening
flange, the relative displaceability of the two components with
respect to one another during the transmission of the braking
moments to the axle still exists, with the above-described
disadvantages.
The present invention is therefore based on the object of
developing a brake mechanism of the generic type in such a way that
it can be manufactured and mounted or dismantled inexpensively,
weight reduction of the brake overall is achieved and the
operational security is improved.
This object is achieved by a brake mechanism having a connecting
element which is fastened to a wheel axle of a motor vehicle or is
configured in one piece with the latter, and a fastening flange of
a brake caliper or a brake carrier of a disk brake, the fastening
flange being fastened to the connecting element, wherein the
fastening flange is held in a form-fitting manner on the connecting
element in the circumferential direction of the wheel axle.
As a result of this structural configuration, the braking moment is
now absorbed by a form-fitting connection and not, as in the prior
art, by a force-transmitting connection. Relative displacement of
the fastening flange with respect to the connecting element is
therefore precluded.
This results first of all in an improvement in the operational
security, as, for example in the case of a sliding caliper brake,
the guide parts can no longer be stressed with respect to one
another and, during reversing operation, loosening of connection
screws is precluded.
As they no longer serve to accommodate the screws, but exclusively
for the form-fitting connection, the contact faces of the two
components can be kept relatively small, which contributes to a
weight saving and to the optimization of manufacturing. The same is
true analogously for the reduced number of connections screws which
is then possible, as these in practice serve only to hold the two
components against one another.
The associated reduction in the space requirement makes
substantially improved accessibility to the screws possible, with
the result that mounting and dismantling of the brake is possible
in a substantially simpler manner.
According to one advantageous development of the invention, there
is provision for the contact faces of the fastening flange on one
side and of the connecting element on the other side to extend in a
manner which is oriented obliquely toward the center of the wheel
axle, with the result that the respective two contact faces lie in
a V shape with respect to one another. Here, the fastening flange
in practice forms a wedge which is supported laterally on the
connecting elements.
During brake mounting, this V shape makes simple, predefined
positioning possible, which likewise simplifies mounting.
Further advantageous refinements of the invention are described and
claimed herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the following text, one exemplary embodiment of the invention
will be described using the appended drawing.
The single FIGURE shows a brake mechanism according to the
invention in a perspective illustration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The FIGURE shows a brake mechanism which, in its basic
construction, comprises a connecting element 1, a fastening flange
3 and a brake caliper 2 which is formed here in one piece with the
latter.
The connecting element 1 is fastened to a wheel axle (not shown),
for example by welding, for which purpose the connecting element 1
has a push-in bore 7, in order to accommodate the wheel axle. In
one design variant, the connecting element 1 can be configured in
one piece with the axle body as a cast part or forging.
Overall, the connecting element 1 is of plate-shaped and, here,
mirror-symmetrical configuration. Connecting limbs 4 are formed on
both sides, which lie in a V shape with respect to one another and
have contact faces 6, against which fastening limbs 8 of the
fastening flange 3 bear. Accordingly, the fastening limbs 8
likewise together form a V shape, in relation to the faces which
face the contact faces 6. The V has an opening angle .alpha. with
respect to the center longitudinal axis L of the connecting
element. The center longitudinal axis L extends through the tip of
the V.
In principle, every angle which is less than 90.degree. is
conceivable, below which the respective contact face 6 is oriented
toward the center longitudinal axis of the connecting element 1.
The contact faces 6 preferably lie in each case at an angle 2a of
from 10 to 80.degree. with respect to one another, preferably from
30 to 60.degree., in particular approximately 55.degree., with very
particular preference 58.degree., as results which are improved
further can be achieved in each case in a surprising manner at
these angles.
The fastening limbs 8 and therefore the brake caliper 2 are
connected to the connecting element 1 by connection screws 5 which
extend preferably tangentially with respect to the wheel axle or
with respect to the push-in bore 7, the heads of the connection
screws 5 being supported on supporting faces of the connecting
limbs 4, which supporting faces extend parallel with respect to the
respective contact face 6.
As can be seen clearly, the connecting limbs 4 form an abutment for
absorbing braking moments which occur and are active in the
circumferential direction of the push-in bore 7 or the wheel axle
(not shown). Shear loading of the connection screws 5 is precluded
here.
TABLE OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
1 Connecting element 2 Brake caliper 3 Fastening flange 4
Connecting limb 5 Connection screw 6 Contact face 7 Push-in bore 8
Fastening limb
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